Foggy Headlights don’t need to be replaced. 

You’ve seen it on many cars, and now you’re noticing it on yours. What should be a crystal clear lens in front of your vehicle is now foggy and almost opaque. 

 

That yellowed and rough surface is not only awful looking, it can be a hazard! The clear headlight lens is meant to allow the light from the bulb through clearly and focus on the road ahead. 

 

Factory headlights are coated with a special protective layers, but harsh Ottawa weather and hot sun can take a toll on this layer.

 

Unsightly, Unsafe.

 

With foggy headlights, the light is partly blocked and also diffused in all directions. This makes night time driving more of a risk as you have weaker light ahead of you. 

 

And of course, that milky yellow look does nothing for the appearance of your car either. A two year old car with foggy lamps looks much older and weathered. Whereas a 15 year old car with glass like lights can seem like a low-mileage garage kept queen!

 

Replace or Restore?

 

Many vehicle owners believe that the only option they have is to shop around Ottawa and buy brand new replacement headlights for their car. Depending on the vehicle and available parts, this could be hundreds to thousands of dollars. 

 

Restoring headlights, however, is faster and cheaper in most cases. Especially considering the labour in replacing car parts or for vintage vehicles where parts are hard to find.

 

Stripped, polished and protected. 

 

What can we do to solve this unfortunate effect?

 

First, depending on severity of the oxidation and wear, we chemically strip away the factory protective layer that has failed. This first step removed the gummy layer, so that the lens can be sanded and polished. 

 

We begin with a more aggressive sanding step to get uniform haze across the headlight, then step to finer and finer grades of sanding. Slowly, clarity is being restored to the lens. 

The final correction is to use a machine and polish the headlight to absolute clarity. Often, the lens looks better than the owner has ever remembered it. But we aren’t finished. 

 

With the plastic housing clear and exposed, the oxidation could return quickly. To prevent this, we apply a clear coat protection to the lens. This protects everything for years to come.

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